Concept of E-Learning | Research Report

E-LEARNING
Authors Article name Author’s affiliation Author’s email address
Julie Ann Nash Future of Online
Education in Crisis:
A Call to Action
Prince Mohammad Bin
Fahd University,
Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia.
[e-mail]
B.Gros and F.J.
Garcia-Penalvo
Future Trends in
the Design
Strategies and
Technological
Affordances of E-
Learning
University de Barcelona
and University de
Salamanca respectively
[e-mail] and
[e-mail]
Q. Alajmi, Mohammed
A. Al-Sharafi, Adzhar
Kamaludin
E-Learning Models:
The Effectiveness
of the Cloud-Based
E-Learning Model
over the Traditional
E-Learning Model
A’ Sharqiah University
and University Malaysia
Pahang respectively.
-
1© The Authors. Published by BCS
Learning and Development Ltd.
Proceedings of ...

Paper title
Author 1 ● Author 2
E-learning is a new way of teaching and has been accepted by institutions throughout the world.
The ease with which students can get to understand their subjects better has made the system more
popular amongst everyone. It bridges the gap between students and teachers and in this platform neither
time matters nor distance. In this paper, e-learning as an alternative solution will be evaluated. The
concepts of e-learning and the way it has evolved have been discussed.
E-learning, internet, online education, crisis
1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research questions are as given below:
1. Can e-learning be considered as the main
medium of teaching?
2. Should e-learning platforms be based on private
cloud or contracts be taken from third parties?
3. How does e-learning help in situations such as
environmental crisis such as coronavirus that is
prevalent today?
These research questions pinpoint exactly
what I want to find out about e-learning and I think
these will guide me throughout my research. There
is no point discussing on what is e-learning and
other basic questions as the main point that needs
to be researched on is whether e-learning is the
perfect alternative for traditional system of learning.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Online education is emerging at a rapid rate and it
is being anticipated that in days to come it will
replace the traditional system of learning.
Researchers are of the opinion that online
education system has been able to create its
position due to the increase in use of the internet.
Almost everyone uses smartphones and internet
and thus it can be said that this is the only medium
that has paved way for online education. This has
been readily accepted by people owing to the ease
of access and anytime access. The online
platforms have brought the classes close to the
students. They can sit back at home, not worrying
about commutation and study. They can chose
from different study materials and lectures of
different professors. In this paper, different aspects
of e-learning will be considered and the main focus
will be on using the platform in situations of crisis.
In order to understand the topic better three articles
based on different authors will be reviewed.
2.1 Concept of e-learning
As per the research done by Gros & García-
Peñalvo, (2016), e-learning emphasizes on the
facts of “any time” and “any place” learning. In this
context, technology helps in mediating the process
of learning, Internet serves as the medium of
delivering the lectures and it is not required for the
students and the teachers to be at the same place
and time. There have been a lot of advances in the
practices related to e-learning with mutual influence
of different technological e-learning platforms as
well as various pedagogical models. The e-learning
platforms are evolving to include new modifications
and these are expected to support new
possibilities. The authors have reviewed the
concepts of e-learning and its definition as per
three different generations. It has been considered
as a teaching as well as learning approach. As per
the authors, first generation is depicted by the
evolution of the online learning platforms. It was
new to the people that Internet could serve as a
medium of learning and in this stage the
technological context was considered to be more
important as compared to the pedagogical issues.
The second generation on the other hand included
human factor. In this generation interaction in
between the peers and communication in between
pedagogues and students was an essential factor.
In the first generation, e-learning was just a content
publication process but in the second generation e-
learning became a medium through which students
could communicate with their teachers. This
included socialization, data interoperability facilities
as well as mobility. The last generation of e-
learning is said to have two different symbiotic
aspects. One being that e-learning has established
itself as a vital component in the technological
ecosystem and second is that e-learning has been
integrated into the educational designs or the
various learning activities in a much transparent
way. The authors of have also discussed on
different pedagogical approaches associated with
e-learning. Pedagogical approaches are developed
from learning theories providing general principles
that are made use of to design specific instructional
as well as learning strategies. These refer to the
various mechanisms that act as link in between
theory and practical domains. Instructional
strategies refer to the creation of instructional
designers that facilitate student learning. The
pedagogies of e-learning are categorized into four
different categories that are as given below:
1. Associative- This can be considered as the
traditional way of education delivery and this
emphasizes on transmission of various theoretical
units associated with e-learning.
2